I still don't rate Joyce

So why isn't anyone dodging it then?

 

AJ has beaten someone with a granite chin before. Joseph Parker. If he won that he'd win against Joyce pretty comfortably in my view.

 

I'd like to see him against Usyk again.

 

He looks a lot like Wlad, though they are different fighters. A well rounded type, who can counter very well for a heavyweight. He's got game.

 

I see him fighting competitively against most people in the lower half of the top 10 so he's pretty damn good. The top 5 guys though? I'm not sure. If the Usyk fight does happen and he manages to stop Usyk then he's top 5 material for sure.

 

No shame for Vykhryst thought. Other top guys like Fraser Clarke were KTFOed 3 times by Joyce and not even in WSB, but in amateur boxing, with pillow gloves

 

I'm a huge Chisora fan, I'd root for him over everyone active now, but I don't think even prime 240lbs, motivated Chisora would beat Joyce based on their styles. Chisora at his best would pressure and maul guys in close but his biggest flaw was his work rate and against Joyce I can't see him knocking him out or throwing enough to earn a decision. I think it would be competitive but in the end Joyce out works him to win a decision.

I think Joyce/Whyte would be competitive. Whyte is a good heavyweight but a flawed one, he makes defensive mistakes at times like Joyce but doesn't have the head movement or chin to get away with it like Joyce usually does. I think right now I'd favour Joyce to out work him and stop him, but I don't think you can ever count Whyte out as he has a fight ending left hook.

 

You just don't see it with him. I don't blame you; Joyce can be a hard sell for even a lot of experienced boxing fans, and I saw a lot of guys whose opinions I normally side with going for Dubois beforehand.

I've broken down his style and his winning qualities in a couple of posts in other threads, but basically they boil down to this:

- great ring control centred around his jab and footwork. Watch how he cuts down the ring and keeps fights constantly on the backfoot with his jab and forward pressure. If a fighter can't set their feet it doesn't matter how slick or fast or hard hitting they are. Everything stems from the base, and Joyce takes that away from you. Try throwing a really hard punch on the heavy bag. Now try throwing that same shot while some big goon is constantly pushing you from all angles.

- constant workrate. Where most fighters fight in spurts Joyce keeps plugging away. That's extremely draining both mentally and physically because you never get a chance to rest or reset. It's the same tactic Usyk employs, only where Usyk is about speed and peppering flurries Joyce is about heavy thudding shots. One overwhelms you with constant activity which you can't adjust to, the other with brain-numbing shots that cotton-wool your senses just enough that you no longer have that mental sharpness to do what you'd normally be able to do in the gym or against lesser opponents.

- hard to hit clean. This might seem a dumb point at first, but look at how many right hands Dubois actually landed flush on Joyce. A couple, but look how many Joyce moved away from as he was being hit, or stuffed their trajectory with his left arm/shoulder. Still scoring shots under the rules of boxing (since they're making contact with his face) but not nearly as damaging as they look at first glance. And Dubois was putting a lot into those shots. So putting a ton of oomph into you best shots and seeing it have little effect on your opponent, again extremely mentally and physically draining.

So essentially he takes away fighters' strengths and makes them fight his fight, which few are equipped for.

"I mentioned last night that Joyce reminds me of froch.. I see nothing spectacular.. But he wins"

Well this is it really. He wins. There's nothing in the boxing rule books that say you have to look spectacular in victory. Only that you take more rounds on the scorecards than your opponent or stop them before the final bell. How you get there is up to you.

 

That automatically puts him among the best in the world.

 

Damn how tall is he

Joyce got abit of a Foreman vibe about him

Despite being slow, upright and ponderous he really makes the most of what he has.